In a previous post we discussed Hausa traditional architecture and its decorative facades, their meaning and the socio-economic implications they traditionally held.

While wall motifs often held a deeper meaning than their decorative aspect, most homeowners didn’t know what that meaning was. Rather, for them, the symbol lied in the actual existence of the motifs on their wall.

Recently, we have been looking at earth architecture in Niger and at the examples that pre-date French colonization. An enduring example of such an architecture can be found in the Southern part of the country where the Hausas live. The Hausas are one of the largest West-African ethnic groups spread across Niger, Nigeria, Cameroun and Ghana. Pre-colonization, Hausa master builders were an affluent and influential class, organized in a guild with rules and regulations.